Thread cutter for weft replenishing looms



April 17, 1951 c, BEATRmE 2,549,285

THREAD CUTTER FOR WEF'T REPLENISHING LOOMS Filed Dec. 2'7, 1948 I INVENTOR GABRIEL C BEATRICE ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 17, 1951 THREAD CUTTER FOR WEFT REPLENISHIN G LOOMS Gabriel 0. Beatrice, Shrewsbury, Mass, assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application December 27, 1948, Serial No. 67,285

10 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in 7 thread cutters for weft replenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide a thread cutter so constructed that the time of cutting in the loom cycle and also the rate of cutting may be varied to suit different types of yarns and different conditions of weaving.

A form of thread cutter which has been used on certain types of weft replenishing looms employs a pair of scissor cutter blades mounted in front of the lay and adapted to enter the shuttle box and shuttle on a weft replenishing beat of the loom for the purpose of cutting the thread of the outgoing bobbin at a point near the delivery eye of the shuttle. The cutter is operated by engagement of the lay or some part carried by it with one of the cutter blades and in order to take care of motion of the lay which may occur after the cutting operation is completed provision is made for movement of the cutter along the lay. In order to facilitate this motion of the cutter a roll or the like for engagement with the lay has in the past been mounted on the movable cutter blade but it has been found that when such a roll has its axis fixed with respect to the axis of the movable cutter blade there is no opportunity to adjust either the time of operation in the loom cycle, or the rate of cutting.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a carrier for the roll mounted on the movable cutter blade in such manner that the roll can be moved back nd forth in a direction toward and from the lay and also be moved in a direction toward and from the pivot of the movable cutter blade.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of the invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of part of a weft replenishing loom having the invention'applied thereto, the lay, shuttle box and shuttle being shown in cross section,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view looking in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. l but on an enlarged scale showing the cutter at the beginning of a cutting operation,

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the cutter at the end of the cutting operation.

Fig. 5 is a plan view looking in the direction Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-43 of Fig. i,

Fig. '7 is an enlarged vertical section on line ii, Fig. 5, and

Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing the carrier, movable cutter blade and adjusting screw.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the loom frame It supports a reserve bobbin magazine M which in the present instance may be provided with front and back stacks of reserve bobbins BI and B2. The magazine rocks about a pivot H under control of mechanism well understood but not shown herein so that the lowest bobbin in either the front or the back stack can be in transfer position.

The magazine is mounted on a stand l2 having a stud it which pivotally supports the transferrer arm 64. The latter is provided with a latch I5 for engagement with a hunter [6 on the lay on transferring beats of the loom. The cutter mechanism designated generally at C has a mounting shown herein as a stem ll supported by a lever i8 movable about a vertical pivot stud I9 which may be supported as at 2'0 in fixed position with respect to the transferrer stud l3. An arm 2| of lever It engages a stop 22 on the transferrer arm and normally holds the lever H3 in such position that the cutter mechanism is forward of its operating position. At the time of a weft replenishing operation descent of the transferrer arm it moves the stop 22 forwardly, whereupon a spring 23 around stud l9 rocks the lever 18 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 to move the cutter mechanism rearwardly.

The lay 25 of the loom is provided with a shuttle box 26 the'front wall of which is provided with a hole or slot 21 which registers with a similar hole or slot 28 in the shuttle S when the latter is properly boxed on a weft replenishing beat of the loom. The depleted bobbin B in the shuttle will ordinarily have a weft thread W extending therefrom to the adjacent selv'age, and this thread will extend across the aligned slots 7:? and 28 as indicated in Fig. 3. When the bobbin is expelled by the transferrer arm I4 the thread W is cut by mechanism C and the short end of it which leads back through the shuttle delivery eye E of the shuttle S is drawn out of the eye and downwardly with the bobbin B. The other part of the thread W extending to the left as viewed in Fig. 2 may be operated on by any approved form of mechanism toprevent it from being drawn into the warp sheds of the loom.

'The stem I? has secured thereto a head 3!] provided with a blade pivot or stud 3| on which is pivotally mounted a movable cutter blade 32.

A fixed cutter blade 33 is secured to the head 30. A tension spring 34 is supported at its lower endby pin 35 on the head 39 and is connected at its upper end as at 36 with the movable cutter blade 32. Spring 34 normally holds the movable cutter blade in the position shown in Fig. 3 against a stop screw 31 with the cutter blades in open position. When the movable blade completes a cutting stroke a horn 38 on it engages head 30 to stop further angular motion of the movable blade. p

The matter thus far described is of common construction and may be as set forth for instance in prior Patents Nos. 2,398,264 and 2,471,809. In that patent a roll is shown as mounted for rotation about an axis which is fixed with respect to the movable cutter blade 32, and because of this construction there is no opportunity for varying the location of the roll in a back and forth direction or in a direction toward and from the blade pivot stud 3| for altering the conditions of operation of the upper or movable cutter blade 32.

In carrying the invention into effect a roll carrier 4|] is provided for attachment to the movable cutter blade 32. This carrier has a vertical slot 4| open at its forward end and receives the lower part 42 of the flat movable cutter blade 32. The forward end of part 42 is bent laterally as at 43 and has tapped thereinto a positioning screw 44 the rear end of which engages a wall 45 of the carrier. Extending horizontally through the carrier is a slot 45 which passes through the aforesaid wall 45 and also the companion wall 4'! of the carrier. Projecting rearwardly from the carrier are upper and lower spaced ears 48 and 49, respectively, to receive the pin or stud 50 passing through the lay engaging roll located between the ears. The stud has a head 52 which rests on the upper ear 48 and a pin 53 through the lower end of the stud below the bottom ear 49 prevents upward movement of the stud.

The cutter blade 32 has a preferably circular perforation 55 which receives a transverse member or bolt 56 serving as a carrier pivot extending horizontally through the slot 46. This bolt has a head ,5! at one end thereof engaging wall 45 and a clamping nut 58 at the other end thereof engagin wall .7. Bolt 53 remains stationary with respect to and is positioned by the movable cutter blade 32. The latter is also provided with a slot 50 extending generally in a vertical direction and preferably arcuate and concentric with the axis of stud 56. Extending through the slot V 46 is a second bolt 5| similar to bolt 56 having a head 52 on one end and a clamping nut 53 on the other end, see particularly Fig. 6. The arcuate slot 53 permits angular adjustment of the carrier 45 around the bolt or carrier pivot 56 to vary the height of the roll 5| and also its distance from the blade stud 3| for the purpose of varying the rate of movement of the movable blade by the lay.

In normal operation the two nuts 58 and 63 will be clamped to hold the carrier 4|] in fixed position with respect to the lower part- 42 of the blade 32, thus positioning the roll 5| for engagei ment with some part of the lay, such as a plate 65 in the front thereof. When a weft replenish ing operation occurs the cutter mechanism C moves rearwardly and roll 5| engages the plate 65 to rock the cutter blade 32 pivotally on the stud 3| against the action of spring 34-. After the cutter has been closed the lay may continue to move forwardly a slight distance, in which justed positions.

.for the cutter blade 32.

event the roll will slide laterally, or to the right as viewed in Fig. 2, along the operating plate 65.

The time in the loom cycle at which cutting will occur will depend upon the position of the roll 5| in a back and forth direction. Slot ex tends in a substantially horizontal direction to ward and from the roll and is longer than the distance between bolts 56 and 5| and thus per mits adjustment of the carrier relatively to the movable blade in adirection lengthwise of the slot 45. If the roll is relatively forward the plate 65 will strike it late in the lay advance and the thread will be cut late. If, on the other hand, the roll is in a relatively rearward position it will be struck by the plate 65 early in the advance of the lay with resultant early cutting. The setting of the carrier 40 can be altered to effect this late or early cutting as may be desired by manipulation of the stop screw 44 after the nuts 58 and 63 have been slackened. When the carrier 4Elis in the desired position these nuts will again be clamped with the stop screw against wall 45 so that the forward thrust of the lay will be transmitted through the stop screw and bent part 43 of the blade 32.

It will also be seen that because of the slot 60 the vertical position of the roll 5| can be changed with respect to the stud 3|. If it be desired to have a relatively slow cutting operation the carrier 4|] will be rocked in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 7 around bolt 56 as a center, thereby moving roll 5| away from the stud 3|. If, however, it should be desired to have the rate of cutting increased the carrier 40 will be rocked in the opposite direction so that roll 5| will move upwardly toward the stud 3 It will be apparent that the vertical adjustment of the roll 5| can be effected when in any of its horizontally ad- The mounting of the carrier 49 therefore permits considerable latitude in adjusting both the time in the loom cycle when the roll engages plate 55 during advance movement of the lay, and also the rate of cutting.

If for any reason it should be desired to replace 3 the stud the nuts 58 and 63 can be slackened,

immediately above it to a position which will permit removal of the stud and its replacement. Because of this pivotal motion of the carrier 43 it is possible to have the head 52 resting on'the top ear 48.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets forth simple means .by which the roll 5|, which may be considered to be the 0p erating means for the movable blade, can be adjusted in a back and forth direction with respect to the lay lengthwise of slot 45 and also in a direction toward and from the pivotal mounting These adjustments enable the cutter to be operated either late or early in the advance of the lay and operate either at a relatively fast rate when the roll is high or a slower rate when the roll is low with respect to the stud 3|. It will also be seen that part of the cutter blade 32 is bent laterally as at 43 to mount the stop screw 44 which takes the forward thrust of the carrier 40 derived from the lay. Also, the fact that the carrier 40 can be swung pivotally in a direction to lower the roll 5| permits replacement of the stud 5|). Furthermore, the rate of cutting can be varied without changing the time in the loom cycle when the lay engages the operating means 5|.

Having thus described the invention it will be seen that changes and modifications of. the ionsgoing specific disclosure may be made without departing from the spirit and invention. a

What is claimed as new is:

scope of the which moves about a pivot, operating means on the movable blade engaged by the lay at a given time in the loom cycle to cause angular movement of the movable blade relatively to the other blade by the lay, and mounting means capable of holding the operating means at different distances from said pivot to vary the rate of movement of the movable blade. by the lay while enabling the lay to engage said operating means at said time in the loom cycle.

2. In thread cutter mechanism for a loom having a lay and provided with a mounting having a cutter blade fixed thereto and having means constituting a pivot. a cutter blade movable angularly on said pivot, resilient means normally holding said blades in open thread receiving position, an operating roll for engagement with the lay at a given timein the loom cycle, and means capable of mounting said roll on the movable blade at any one of a plurality of distances from said pivot to vary the rate of movement of the movable blade relatively to the fixed blade by the lay while enabling the lay to engage said operating means at said time in the loom cycle.

3. In thread cutter mechanism for a loom having a lay and provided with a mounting having a cutter blade fixed thereto and having means constituting a pivot, a cutter blade movable angularly on said pivot, resilient means normally holding said blades in open thread receiving position,

an operating roll for engagement with the lay at a given time in the loom cycle, a carrier supporting the roll. and means securing the carrier to the movable blade in such manner as to locate the roll at different distances from said pivot to vary the rate of movement of the movable blade by the lay relatively to the fixed blade while enabling the lay to engage said operating means at said time in the loom cycle.

4. In thread cutter mechanism for a loom having a lay and provided with a mounting having a cutter blade fixed thereto and having means constituting a blade pivot, a movable cutter blade on said pivot, resilient means normally holding said blades in open thread receiving position, an

operating roll for engagement with the lay, a carrier supporting the roll, a carrier pivot passing through the movable blade and around which the carrier can be moved angularly relatively to the movable blade, and means capable of holding the carrier on the movable blade in any one of a plurality of angular positions around said carrier pivot with the roll at different distances from said blade pivot to vary the rate of movement of the movable blade by the lay relatively to the fixed blade.

5. In thread cutter mechanism for a loom having lay and provided with a mounting having a cutter blade fixed thereto and having means constituting a blade pivot, a movable cutter blade on said pivot, resilient means normally holding said blades in open thread receiving position, an operating roll for engagement with the lay, a carrier supporting the roll and having a slot therein transverse of the movable blade and extending toward and from said roll, means passing through said slot and movable blade constituting av carrier pivot around which the carrier can be moved angularly to locate the roll at different distances from the blade pivot, and means passing through, said slot and movable blade to clamp the carrier to the movable cutter blade in any angular position which the carrier may assume relatively to said carrier pivot.

6. In thread cutter mechanism for a loom having a lay and provided with a mounting having a cutter blade fixed thereto and having also means constituting a blade pivot, a movable cutter blade on said pivot, resilient means normally holding said blades in open thread receiving position, an operating roll for engagement with the lay, a carrier on which said roll is rotatably mounted, said carrier having a slot therein extending generally in the direction of lay motion and toward and from the roll, means positioned by the movable cutter blade extending through said slot and constituting a carrier pivot around which said carrier is movable angularly relatively to the. movable blade to locate the roll at different distances from said blade pivot, means on said cutter blade engaging the carrier and adjustable lengthwise of said slot to enable the carrier to assume difierent positions relatively to the movable blade in the direction of the length of said slot, and means clamping said carrier to said movable blade in any of the adjusted positions of the carrier relatively to the movable blade both angularly around said carrier pivot and in the direction of the length of said slot.

7. In a thread cutter mechanism for a loom having a lay and provided with a mounting having a cutter blade fixed thereto and having also means constituting a blade pivot, a movable cutter blade on said pivot, resilient means nor mally holding said blades in open thread receiving position, an operating roll for engagement with the lay, a carrier on which the roll is rotat ably mounted, connections between the carrier and the movable blade including a slot in the carrier extending generally in the direction of movement of the lay and a transverse member in the slot fixed with respect to the movable blade whereby the carrier is capable of assuming a plurality of angular positions with respect to the movable blade and also a plurality of positions lengthwise of the slot relatively to the movable blade, and means holding the carrier and movable blade together in any of the angularly and lengthwise adjusted positions of the carrier relatively to the movable blade.

8, In a thread cutter mechanism for a loom having lay and provided with a mounting hav ing a cutter blade fixed thereto and having also means constituting a blade pivot, a movable cutter blade on said pivot, resilient means normally holding said blades in open thread receiving position, an operating roll for engagement with the lay, a carrier on which the roll is rotatably mounted, said carrier having a wall thereon on each side of the movable blade, said walls having aligned slots therein extending generally in a direction of movement of the lay, carrier pivot means extending through said slots and the cutter blade around which the carrier is movable angularly with respect to the movable cutter blade, means on the movable cutter blade determining the location of said means in said slots lengthwise thereof, and means holding said carrier to the movable cutter blade.

9. In a thread cutter mechanism for a loom having a lay and provided with a mounting having a cutter blade fixed thereto and having also means constituting a blade pivot, a movable cutter blade on said pivot, resilient means normally holding said blades in open thread receiving position, an operating roll for engagement with the lay, a carrier on which the roll is rotatably mounted, connections between the carrier and movable blade including a carrier pivot on the movable blade capable of assuming different positions relatively to the carrier in the direction of movement of the lay and capable of enabling the carrier to assume angularly adjusted positions relatively to the movable blade to locate the roll at difierent distances from the blade pivot to vary the rate of movement of the movable blade by the lay and also enabling the carrier to assume adjusted positions relatively to the movable blade in the direction of motion of the lay to vary the time of operation of the movable blade in the cycle of the loom.

10. In a thread cutter mechanism for a loom having a lay and provided with a mounting having a cutter blade fixed thereto and having also means constituting a blade pivot, a movable cutter blade on said pivot, resilient means normally holding 25 said blades in open thread receiving position, an operating roll for engagement with the lay, said cutter blade having a perforation therethrough and. having an arcuate slot therein concentric with said perforation, a carrier on which the roll REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,398,264 Turner Apr. 9, 1946 2,471,809 Beatrice May31, 1949 I FOREIGN PATENTS I Number Country Date Great Britain May'21, 1929 

